At first glance the idea of running an engine on air seems to be too good to be true. Actually, if we can make use of air as an aid for running an engine it is a fantastic idea. As we all know, air is all around us, it never runs out, it is non-polluting and it is free.

An Air Driven Engine makes use of Compressed Air Technology for its operation. Compressed Air Technology is now widely preferred for research by different industries for developing different drives for different purposes. The Compressed Air Technology is quite simple. If we compress normal air into a cylinder the air would hold some energy within it. This energy can be utilized for useful purposes. When this compressed air expands, the energy is released to do work.

So this energy in compressed air can also be utilized to displace a piston. This is the basic working principle of the Air Driven Engine. It uses the expansion of compressed air to drive the pistons of the engine. So an Air Driven Engine is basically a pneumatic actuator that creates useful work by expanding compressed air. This work provided by the air is utilized to supply power to the crankshaft of the engine.

In the case of an Air Driven Engine, there is no combustion taking place within the engine. So it is non-polluting and less dangerous. It requires lighter metal only since it does not have to withstand elevated temperatures.

As there is no combustion taking place, there is no need for mixing fuel and air. Here compressed air is the fuel and it is directly fed into the piston cylinder arrangement. It simply expands inside the cylinder and does useful work on the piston. This work done on the piston provides sufficient power to the crankshaft.